


Just One More Dance

by Paladin_Silver



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Angst, Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Hetalia, Hetalia Axis Powers - Freeform, Mechanic!England, Past England/France (Hetalia), Pilot!America, Shenanigans, Some men don't know when to take no for an answer but that gets dealt with, Tony is a plane, World War II, World War II romance, war romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:00:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24174010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paladin_Silver/pseuds/Paladin_Silver
Summary: It's World War II! Alfred F. Jones is an American pilot who gets stationed at an airbase outside London. Alice Ignes Kirkland is a mechanic on the base. She's dealt with people judging her for being one of the only women in her profession. The two bond over the hardships they experience and moments they share. They didn't expect to find love in a hangar but then again, no one expected the world to go to war again.
Relationships: America/England (Hetalia), America/Female England (Hetalia)
Kudos: 10





	1. The First Day

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So I know I posted this already but there were things I wanted to change about the plot and the speed of the progression of Alice and Alfred's relationship. I hope y'all enjoy it! I'd love to hear everyone's take on it. Thanks so much for reading and I hope everyone is staying safe!

December 1st, 1940

Planes often flew over the base located outside the city of London. They didn’t always have friendly intentions though some dropped in to distribute supplies from time to time. It was spread around the base that an officer by the name of Sergeant Alfred Franklin Jones, from the United States Airforce, would be joining their base for sometime. A short woman, clad in overalls and a white button up stared up at the sky, that had cleared up considerably in comparison to the downpour they experienced that morning. The pavement under her was lightly dusted with snow from a brief snow flurry that took place several hours ago. The sky overhead was bright blue with only a few clouds, it was the perfect conditions for flying. The woman's thoughts were interrupted by footsteps and a gentleman's voice calling her name.

“Hey Alice!” a pilot ran over to the woman in question, “Do you think you could take a look and Jenny? Her engine is sounding kind of strange and no one knows engines like you.” He smiled and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. Alice was known as a force to be reckoned with on the base. She was the only woman who refused blatantly refused the “gender appropriate” jobs on the base that were offered to her. The mechanic was known for her quick wits and hard punches, which was to be expected from a girl who was raised by a family with military background.

“I suppose I could take a look at her engine Roger.” Alice shrugged and followed the pilot back into the hanger. One of the planes she was watching came in for a landing, unlike the other planes on the runway, this one had a giant white star on the side. The hood of the plane opened and a blond haired man hopped out and scanned his surroundings. The base itself was neatly organized with a large warehouse along the runway. Taking his cap and goggles off, the american hopped onto the pavement with a large smile on his face.

“Alright this must be the place I’ve been assigned to,” He adjusted his bag and his glasses, trying to figure out what to do now that he landed, “Now to-”

“Sergeant Jones! It’s so nice for you to join us,” an older man who Alfred guessed to be the director of the base was on his way over. When the man got stopped in front of Alfred he realized that the older gentleman was a few inches shorter than Alfred and had a charismatic energy. The gentleman had a few stray gray and white hairs mixed into his auburn hair, and laugh lines which showed his age. Despite his shorter stature and cheerful attitude, there was an air of authority in the way he carried himself.

“I’m Lieutenant Colonel Charles Wimbolten, it’s very nice to finally meet you,” They shook hands and the Lieutenant clasped an arm on Alfred’s shoulder. Alfred smiled wider and quickly saluted his new superior, "It’s nice to meet you too sir! I’m sorry I’m a bit late. I got caught up in some turbulence on my way here.” 

“Ah yes, yes. That’s going to be quite common in these parts. I’m glad you landed safely though. Let me show you around the base since you’ll be here for a while.” The Lieutenant smiled and removed an arm from Alfred’s shoulder. Alfred couldn’t imagine how a man like Lieutenant Wimbolten would take part in a war such as this, then again hard times such as this tends to call for more hands on deck. “That sounds great! Where do we start?” Alfred smiled and put his cap on.

“I suppose we could start at the barracks where you’ll be staying. I’m sure you have some luggage to drop off.” The man smiled and began to lead the way. The majority of the tour took about two hours. Many of the base's personnel looked at Alfred with curiosity, wondering if this young lad was the Sergeant they were expecting from the States. The barracks were organized by rank, meaning that Alfred would be bunking with the other Sergeants of this station. After meeting his new bunk mates, Alfred was led to the dining hall which was a fairly large building with about twenty long tables lined in rows around the room. Their last stop was the hanger where Alfred would probably be spending most of his time. The last destination of the tour was the hangar where the repairs on planes would take place. They entered the hanger only to find chaos beginning to ensue. 

“You bloody idiot! Why did you use car fuel? You’re supposed to use this kind. Do you have any idea how long it’s going to take for me to siphon all this garbage out of the fuel tank?” A female voice rang through the hanger. There were a few wrenches thrown followed by a string of curses from a man. Alfred’s eyebrows crept up his forehead in surprise and the Lieutenant chuckled lightly at what he was over hearing.

“New recruit is taking on our head mechanic.” There was another string of curses, this time let out by the woman. Alfred had no idea that a girl could swear so much and so thoroughly, he was so torn between stepping in to diffuse the situation, and letting it play out. “Should we… uh. Do something about this or...” He was cut off by a young man storming past them grumbling about how women shouldn’t be engineers.

“No the lad probably deserved it to be honest. Alice! I have someone I want you to meet” Wimbolten called as he walked further into the hanger, leading the way for Alfred to follow.

“Sir! Of course one moment please!” There was a clatter of tools followed by some swearing. Soon enough the small blonde woman emerged from behind a small plane, hair tied in pigtails, glasses smeared with oil. The woman in front of Alfred was not at all what he was expecting. This woman looked so delicate and small, but there was clearly strength in her stance. Suddenly her bright green eyes met his, causing him to straighten under her gaze. “Is this the American chap?”

“Sergeant Alfred Franklin Jones, but you can call me Alfred. It’s nice to meet you Miss.!” Alfred smiled charmingly at her, but she seemed rather unfazed by it. It was not a reaction that the friendly american was expecting, but he brushed it off. “Alice Kirkland but you can call me Kirkland if you'd like.” The mechanic quickly turned her attention back to the Lieutenant.

“Alice if you have time, do you think you’d be able to show Alfred around the hanger? Nobody knows this hanger like you do.” The man smiled but the look in his eyes said that she wouldn’t really have much of a choice in the matter. The small blonde woman rolled her eyes and sighed, “I suppose I could do that. Come on Sergeant let me show you around so I can get back to work.” The Lieutenant smiled at the two and wished Alfred good luck, though what he needed luck for he had no idea.

“Don’t go too rough on him, Alice.” He called over his shoulder and left the large building. Alfred watched him go, looking confused then hurriedly followed Alice deeper into the hanger.

“Sooo you’re the mechanic? That's so cool! I've never met a girl mechanic before!” Alfred said innocently as he looked around the chaotically organized hanger. There were some parts laying around the floor along with some scrap metal piled up in a corner. The mess seemed to be organized into piles of crap metal and parts that were too big to fit into drawers. The rest of the hanger had carts that were filled with tools, and shelves of manuals and blueprints. The statement seemed innocent enough but to a person who was constantly harassed and judged, it sounded patronizing. Alice immediately stiffened at the statement and leveled Alfred a hostile look, “You have a problem with me being a woman?” 

Alfred's eyes widened and he rushed to defend himself, “What? No! No! Why would I have a problem with that? Just because you’re a woman doesn’t mean you can’t do manly things like engineering.” 

“You think engineering is a manly job? Does that mean I’m doing a man’s job?” And now Alfred was stuck in what he felt like a trap that he set by that one blasted adjective. He looked around and tried to formulate a good enough response, “What? No! I mean it’s a job that men usually do, ya know? But I’m sure you’re just as good at your job as anybody else in your field.” 

He really hoped that this conversation wouldn’t end up with him getting a wrench to the head. The american looked back over at the woman that was looking at him with an unreadable expression. She seemed to have come to a conclusion, “Alright, I think I understand now. Let’s get back to the tour.” Alice turned around and began leading him throughout the warehouse. She showed him where his plane would be placed when it would need repairs, along with where the fuel is located and the various tools that he might need. All was going well until Alfred managed to knock a whole row of shelves over, after picking up everything that had fallen, he was thrown out of the hanger for “only making a bloody mess worse and utterly screwing up the organization of it.”

The american laughed during the scolding he received from Alice, he stopped laughing when she grabbed and twisted his ear. He ended up getting dragged out of the hanger by his ear and was left alone standing outside the large hangar door when he heard chuckling. “You know, I’m surprised you lasted as long as you did. She usually tosses my men out after about a half hour and they usually have some bruises.” Lieutenant Wimbolten smiled and walked over to Alfred, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Come on, they’re serving dinner, let’s go eat.” With that the pair walked to the dining hall. Alfred managed to make some friends on the base in a short amount of time. Despite the circumstances that brought him here, Alfred was happy to be a part of the base now for however long he would be there for.


	2. Tony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shoddy American Engineering or just a mechanic that has a bone to pick with a certain line of planes? A few days have past since out hero's arrival and he proves to be a tad intimidated by a certain spitfire mechanic and her temper that we all know and love. Alice fixes up his plan and Alfred shows off his excessive strength.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy! Feel free to leave a comment to tell me what I could be doing better!

December 1st, 1940

A few days passed and Alfred’s missions came and went since his first arrival. He was used to working on getting simple fixes done on his plane, and he had yet to go to the hangar for legitimate repairs that needed to get done on his plane. Unlike the other pilots on this base, Alfred often felt guilty when he gave the jobs he could have gotten done himself to mechanics so he had refrained from going in until there was a legitimate reason to. Today however, had brought some difficulties. What should have been a reconnaissance stealth flight with minimum contact with the enemy had turned into a full fledged fire fight. Lucky for Alfred he and Tony, his plane had come back in mostly one piece. 

As soon as he landed Alfred hopped out of his plane to assess the damages. He found that Tony’s engine was smoking and leaking fluid but it wasn’t unflyable. The pilot knew deep down that he wouldn’t be able to fix it by himself, meaning he would have to go to the hangar to see if one of the mechanics could take care of it. After his last run in with Alice, Alfred hoped she would be there so he could get to know her better. She seemed to know her stuff about planes and mechanics, plus she was one of the first people Alfred had met. He had confidence that she would be able to fix Tony up.

Alfred sighed and began to push his plane to the hangar, drawing a lot of attention from the other occupants of the runway. Tony wasn’t a huge plane, it was a stealth fighter, made for speed and power but that didn’t mean that Tony was light. Alfred had been exceptionally strong all his life. He credited that to growing up doing farm work and the military for that, but even in the military his strength drew some attention. As soon as he reached the hangar door he left his plane outside and ran into the hangar searching for Alice. 

He waved to the other mechanics who were hard at work on other planes as he made his way through the large warehouse. The sounds of metal grinding against metal filled the large building however the deeper her ventured into the hangar the sound of a woman’s voice grew louder.

“Honestly John, how many times do I need to tell you? Do not for any reason use car fuel for your plane. I do not want to hear any bloody excuse you might come up with. Your plane is finally done so get it out of here.” Alice huffed as she pushed a tool drawer closed.

“Alright alright, but is it so bad that I wanted to see you? You keep avoiding me darling You know I named my plane after you.” The pilot she was talking too inched closer with a lecherous look on his face that made Alfred cringe. He couldn’t see Alice’s face but he could assume that this guy was going to receive her rath.

“How many times do I have to tell you that just because you named your plane after me, open the door for me, or constantly seek my attention, does  _ not _ mean that you are entitled to any inch of me. I did not ask you to do any of those things. In fact I think I told you to leave me alone and not name your plane after me, but for some reason the word ‘no’ doesn’t exist in your vocabulary egit.” Alice was now in John’s face, her voice rising in volume and she pushed the man away from her. “Get out of my hangar I have work to do.”

John was just about to say something when Alfred cleared his throat and gave the man a pointed look before turning to the young mechanic, “Hey Alice I could use some help with Tony.”

“Tony?” she blinked in confusion for a moment.

“My plane?”

“Ah yes, what an odd name for a plane. Where is it?” the young mechanic grabbed her tool box and fixed her hat on her head.

“Oh Tony’s out in front of the hangar, pushed her there myself.” Alfred grinned and started to lead the way to where he left his plane.

“You pushed your plane here by yourself?” Alice asked incredulously.

“Yeah” He chuckled sheepishly, “It wasn’t that hard. I mean she isn’t light but he definitely isn’t the heaviest thing I’ve had to pull around.” They soon exited the hangar and reached Tony. Smoke was no longer coming from the engine, but the damage that the plane had taken was very visible. 

“Bloody hell what’d you do to the poor thing?” Alice asked as she started examining the plane.

“Heh funny story… Came across some bad guys on what was supposed to be a quiet reconnaissance mission.” Alfred explained as he followed Alice around the plane. The small woman was taking notes on what needed to be done on it as she inspected it. She soon set to work with some assistance from Alfred. The repairs proved to be a bit difficult for Alice to complete seeing as how the plane was different from the planes she typically worked on.

“Shoddy american engineering..” Alice muttered under her breath as she moved parts out of the way so she could get to the portion that she needed to fix. At one point her frustration got the best of her.

“Bloody hell! How high maintenance is this God forsaken plane?” She exclaimed, drawing the attention of a certain american pilot.

“What are you talking about? Tony is not a high maintenance plane!” Alfred protested and hugged the plane’s left wing, “Don’t listen to her baby. She just doesn’t know quality american craftsmanship when she sees it.”

“You’re right, because it doesn’t exist.” Alice quipped as she continued working diligently on the plane. “What kind of name is Tony for a plane anyways?”

The question was innocent enough, it clearly wasn’t meant as an insult to Alfred. That didn’t stop Alfred from getting defensive. Alfred’s eyes narrowed slightly and he huffed, “I named her after my dog back at home. Don’t have a girl I’m after besides I never really understood why other pilots name their planes after the girls they like. I mean they fly their planes into battle for pete’s sake!”

“I never understood that either.” Alice shrugged as she continued working. The pair continued to chat and verbally jab at each other. Not out of malice but out of the fun of getting a reaction out of each other. Alice continued to make quips about “shoddy american engineering” and Alfred would poke fun at her accent. Alfred handed her the tools she asked for and he focused on completing the more basic repairs. He found that it was incredibly fun to annoy and tease Alice. The reactions that she had to his pestering were just too priceless. They ranged from her cursing him out which was incredibly funny since she had engine grease smeared on her forehead, making it look like she had a unibrow. The response he had gotten was ten times as funny seeing as how she blushed and started scrubbing her forehead with a rag, only succeeding in smearing it even more. They were finishing up repairs when Alice spoke up.

“Did you really push this big hunk of metal all the way over here by yourself?” The look on her face could only be described as skeptical. It was a look that Alfred was used to receiving from people when they first heard about Alfred’s strength. The young man had found immense delight in their reactions to when he proved his strength. 

“Yup! It wasn’t too hard to be honest, I mean I did have the landing gear to help me.” Alfred smiled and patted the hood of the plane. Alice only grew more skeptical.

“Prove it.” And those were the words that Alfred was waiting for. He cracked his knuckles loudly and moved into the correct position, giving Alice a cheesy smile. 

“Alrighty!” and he began to push on the plane. It immediately moved without much resistance to Alfred’s pushing. Alice’s eyes widened in disbelief as Alfred moved the plane without too much effort. The pilot looked over and started cackling at the mechanic’s shocked expression. The sound of Alfred’s laugh snapped her out of her shock and she quickly feigned a more analytical expression.

“I think the landing gear is making it easier for you but overall that’s pretty impressive Sergeant Jones.” Alice said as she picked up her tools. Alfred stopped pushing the plane and held it in place, turning to Alice.

“You can call me Alfred if you want. There’s no need for formalities Alice.” He grinned.

“I don’t think that that’s proper, we just met the other day and we’re mere acquaintances” She explained as he fiddled with the tool box.

“Sooo you’re saying that if you got to know me more you’ll start calling me by my first name?” Alfred grinned wickedly as realization dawned on Alice.

“W-Wait that’s not what I-”

“Too late!” Alfred’s smile grew wider and sunnier. Before she could say anything he was running off, yelling ‘thank you’s’ over his shoulder as he ran to his quarters. 


	3. A Not-So Annoying Pest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few weeks have passed and it's still World War II (imagine that!). Alfred takes joy in pestering Alice and Alice dishes it right back to him. Our beloved mechanic shares how she became a mechanic.

December 18th, 1940

A few weeks had passed and Alfred had begun to hover around Alice when he wasn’t busy. He would keep her company while she worked in the hangar when he wasn’t busy with his superiors or flight. They had gotten to know each other a little bit over that time. Alfred had revealed that he was from North Carolina and had grown up on a farm with his brother Matthew who moved to Canada when he was old enough. Alice spoke about her family, specifically about her older brothers. She did speak fondly of her grandfather though, apparently he was from Scotland and moved to England where he met her grandmother. Turned out that they were both from large military backgrounds, which gave them something to talk about if they ran out of ideas.

It was like clock work, every evening when all aircrafts were called back in, Alice would set to work. The planes that sustained the heaviest damage would be the first to receive Alice’s attention, those that had minor scrapes or dents would get some polish but that would be it. She had a lot to deal with at the moment, her brothers were also in the air force and were stationed at another base. Alice was constantly worried about them though she would never admit it. But that wasn’t what she had to deal with at the moment. At the moment she had an obnoxious american hovering around her as she worked on his plane asking her questions about this or that or telling her stories about his flights. It amazed her that it had only been a week since he arrived at the base and he already sustained damage to his ship. She was able to tune him out for the most part, though the occasional laugh would draw her out of her focus.

“So Alice where did you learn how to be a mechanic?” The question and the earnestness in Alfred’s tone drawed her out of her focus, surprisingly a little bit. She wiped her forehead, undoubtedly smearing more grease on her forehead. 

“Well, my brothers taught me. They worked at our father’s garage and despite our mother and father being against it, they taught me everything they knew. Our father was a military man but he was retired by the time I was born. He started a garage and repair shop to make a bit more money and immediately taught everything he knew to my brothers. I had wanted to learn as well when I got older but he and my mother agreed that it wasn’t a proper profession for a girl. My brothers thought otherwise. They’d drag me from school to the garage when they knew our father wouldn’t be there and they would begin to teach me. They said it was to get me to ‘quit bitching’ but I don’t know if I quite believe that. I mean they are arses, don’t get me wrong, but I think they just wanted to rebel against our parents.” Alice smiled fondly then remembered an incident that involved a blow torch and gasoline, “They’re complete gits.” Her eyebrows furrowed and she turned back to her task at hand. 

“Hey Alice? I think you missed a spot.” Alfred said, causing Alice to look up. She examined the section of the plane that she was working on but she couldn’t find any places she missed. 

“Where I don’t see anything?” Alice looked over at Alfred in confusion only to get a grease covered finger booping her on the nose. “Boop!” 

The mechanic’s eyes widened with surprise and she moved to wipe the grease from her nose. The expression on her face must have been amusing because the pilot in front of her started cackling. There was more grease on her hands than there was on her face which gave her an idea. Now it wasn’t often that she indulged in childish activities but it was just too tempting. She took her hand and slowly dragged it across Alfred’s face, caking it with grease. 

“What the- ugh this stuff tastes disgusting!” He quickly grabbed a cloth and started to scrub his face, only smearing the grease around more. 

“If you can’t take it then don’t dish it out Sergeant.” She smirked and turned back to her task.

“Really you can call me Alfred, Alice.” Alfred was still trying to scrub the grease off his face. He was wearing his uniform, but decided to discard his jacket so that it wouldn’t get greased up.

“That hardly seems proper seeing that I’ve only known you for a few days.” Alice said as she finished the repairs and started putting her tools away. She didn’t notice when Alfred paused and picked up another grease covered rag. Once all of her tools were put away and her hands were empty, Alfred threw said rag at her, covering her face with more grease.

“Thought you might need something to clean yourself up with.” He said with a smirk. The rag fell into Alice’s hands, revealing her face that was covered with even more grease than before. She paused for a second, then leveled Alfred a look that made it clear that he would regret it. Alfred slowly started backing away when Alice crumpled the rag in her hand and threw it as hard as possible just as Alfred opened his mouth to speak. The crumpled rag landed in Alfred’s mouth, causing his eyes to widen in shock and he immediately spat the rag out. The look on his face was enough to make Alice laugh boisterously. 

It then devolved into Alfred and Alice throwing grease and oil covered rags at each other. A few minutes passed by when something clicked in Alice’s mind, “Don’t you have work you need to get done or paperwork to fill out from your flight, Sergeant?”

“Nope! I finished it all up as soon as I got back a couple of hours ago.” He smiled, “but I am hungry. Let’s go get dinner!” Alfred stood up from his hiding place and gestured for Alice to follow him.

“I suppose some dinner sounds good right now.” She stood up and followed him out. The two bickered with each other all the way over to the dining hall. Their dynamic confused many of the other residents of the base. The other pilots and soldiers weren’t able to tell if it was banter or if the two genuinely hated each other, but then that brought up the question of why did they spend so much time together if they hated each other? Alice and Alfred were sitting at a table in the dining hall when Lieutenant Wimbolten walked over and sat down.

“So! How’s my favorite niece doing?” The Lieutenant smiled and poured himself and Alice some chamomile tea. Alfred immediately spat out his water and looked at the Lieutenant and the mechanic with shock.

“Wait! WAIT! YOU’RE RELATED?” He nearly yelled, causing both Alice and Lieutenant Wimbolten to wince. Alfred already had a loud voice, so his yell was enough to make the soldiers eight tables over to wince. 

“Um… Yes?” Alice replied and shared a look with the lieutenant. Alfred’s jaw dropped more, the more he looked at the two in front of him, the more it made sense. Alice rolled her eyes and sighed without thinking, “Honestly Alfred, close your mouth, you’re going to catch a fly.”

That was enough to close Alfred’s mouth and cause Alice to flush slightly. The lieutenant took this as his cue to leave and went to go talk to some other officers sitting at a different table. The Sergeant then smiled triumphantly, as if being called by his first name was a difficult feat to accomplish. Alice rolled her eyes, “Now belt up, it’s your name, it's not a medal.”

“But with a name like mine, I have to treat it like a medal.” Alfred preened and was about to say something else when he was cut off when three men surrounded Alice who suddenly looked annoyed. The trio of men was made up of a red-head, a dark haired man, and a blond man. The red-head spoke first, “Hey love, what do you say to greasing my engine later tonight?”

Alice rolled her eyes and glared at the red-head “John I’ve already told you no so just back off. Go hit on one of the nurses or cooks.” 

John glared at her and moved to grab her when Alfred cleared his throat and stood up. The look on Alfred’s face was a steep contrast to the carefree smile that usually graced his features. The expression on Alfred’s face was not friendly at all, his eyes were ice cold, his jaw was clenched and a frown was on his lips instead of a smile. He looked utterly unamused by the situation unfolding in front of him.

“My problem isn’t with you, Yankee. So just-” A hand clamped down onto John’s shoulder. Behind him was Lieutenant Wimbolten who was looking equally unamused, the tone in his voice was cold. “Private Smith, you are dismissed for the night. Why don’t you go cool down and bother somebody else?”

John scowled and turned back to Alice, winking at her then standing up, motioning for his friends to follow him. Alfred glared at them until they disappeared from sight.

Alice was the first to speak, “It’s nothing so you two don’t go sticking your noses in it okay? I can handle it myself.”Both Alfred and Alice’s uncle looked like they were going to object but Alice stood up and left before they could get a word out. Alfred looked more concerned than angry and the lieutenant looked just as concerned. Wimbolten let out a sigh and put a hand on Alfred’s arm just as the Sergeant was about to stand up to follow Alice. “Best to let her be Sergeant, unless you want to suffer her wrath as well. Alice knows how to take care of herself. Her brothers taught her how to fight.

Alfred still didn’t look convinced, he shook his arm out of Wimbolten’s grasp and went out the door to search for Alice. He had a bad feeling in his stomach that he just couldn’t ignore. The problem was that the base was fairly large, he found himself hoping that the lieutenant was right and that Alice wouldn’t need him. 


	4. Why Can't They Take No for an Answer?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice has a run in with John and his crew. For some reason the word "no" just doesn't exist in their vocabulary. Luckily our heroine had three older brothers who liked to push their younger sister around. This chapter may be triggering for some readers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter may be triggering to some readers.

December 18th, 1940

It was fairly dark out when Alice left the mess hall, thankfully the outside lights were turned on, lighting small pathways to and from buildings. Though at this point Alice knew the base so well that she would be able to find her way even in the pitch black darkness of night. She was making her way back to her hanger to finish up some more repairs on various planes when she heard footsteps trailing behind her. 

It wasn’t often that someone would follow her to the hanger but it wasn’t unheard of. Usually someone would have questions about the repairs she conducted on a plane, though sometimes a drunken soldier would try something. She had started carrying a wrench around after the first drunken soldier incident. However this felt different, instead of one set of footsteps it sounded like there were three sets, this put Alice on guard. Rather than show her inner anxiousness she followed her usual path until she came across a small pathway between two buildings, gripping her wrench tightly. She quickly darted into the small alley, hoping to God that they wouldn’t follow her. 

Much to her dismay, the footsteps followed after her. Whoever was chasing after her was either very desperate or had ill intentions towards her. Alice was thinking that the latter was more likely at this point. She continued to run as fast as her legs could carry her, making sharp turns into different alleys in hope that she would be able to lose them. It seemed that she just wasn’t that lucky, they followed after her and managed to corner her at the end of the alleyway. John and his two friends had her pinned to a wall, blocking any possible path of escape. She struggled and glared at the men that surrounded her and snarled, “What the hell do you bloody wankers want?”

John stepped closer to Alice and gave her a cocky smirk as he pulled harshly on one of her pigtails, causing her to yelp. His other hand gripped her wrist tightly, forcing her to drop her wrench,“That’s a simple question to answer love, I just want you to admit that you want me. Why do you keep refusing me, Alice? You know you want me, and you know you want to give yourself over to me.”

“John, I said no to all of your proposals, why can’t you blokes just take a hint?” Alice spat in his face, which may not have been the smartest thing to do since his grip on her pigtail got tighter to the point of bringing tears to her eyes. She tried to get her wrist out of his grasp but his grip only tightened more. It hurt, she knew that she would probably have bruises on that wrist in the morning.

When she met his gaze she only found cold amusement dancing in his eyes. John turned to the two other men that were with him, “James, Albert, go make sure no one comes down here okay?” 

They nodded and walked off to guard the entrances to the alley way they were in. The red head turned back to Alice, his smirk grew wider and his eyes grew more sinister. He fixed his grip on Alice and pulled her into him, “Let’s have some fun okay?” With that he smashed his lips against Alice’s. She had minimal time to react and decided to let her instincts take over. Her teeth clamped down on John’s bottom lip enough to make it bleed. He pulled away with a yelp and she head-butted his forehead causing him to stumble. The mechanic picked up her wrench and drove her knee into his crotch, causing him to fall to the ground. 

“What the hell? You little- James, Albert get over here!” John called for his friends, but Alice was already running. She let out a loud high pitch scream for help, hoping it was loud enough to alert someone inside the buildings or nearby. However it seems that the scream did as much harm as it did good. Albert and James came into view, Jame was scowling at her while Albert just gave her a dirty smirk. 

“You know John is getting tired of this game you seem so keen on playing.” Albert said as he slowly approached her. Alice started to back away, looking around for some sort of exit or thing that she could use as a distraction. Soon she was backed up against another wall, cornered by the two men in front of her. Albert kept walking closer to her, and Alice moved into a defensive stance. When Albert got close enough she hit him in the shoulder with her wrench, causing him to yell in pain and fall to the ground. She then kicked him hard, and turned to James fixing him with a harsh glare. He was just about to strike when a voice called out, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you dude.”

Alice turned to look at the man who stood a few meters away, it was Alfred. The look of anger and disgust on his face was enough to make James shiver. The sergeant actually looked his rank for once. The seriousness and anger in his eyes made Alfred look more like an officer, not some green new recruit that people often mistook him for. The american walked closer and got a good look at James, he noticed the tag on his chest that indicated James’ lower rank. He then looked over at Alice, his expression morphing from rage to concern “Alice is this man bothering you?”

“Yes but I can handle it” despite the statement, her voice cracked. Adrenaline was coursing through her veins and she looked like a panicked wild animal. Her pigtails were not as neat as they once were, the clothes she wore were disheveled, but aside from that there was no sign of physical injury. Alfred nodded but turned back to the man in front of him. He whistled loudly, indicating that he found the troublemakers, shortly after two other officers walked in.

“Private James Coldon, you and your friends have been called into Lieutenant Wimbolten’s officer. I suggest you gather your friends and go there immediately.” Alfred said coldly, his fists kept clenching and unclenching showing that he was on the verge of punching James in the face. The private nodded and picked up Albert as the two other officers came back with John. The trio was escorted out of the alley, leaving Alfred and Alice alone. 

Alice watched the trio leave, she didn’t realize she was shivering until she felt a coat wrap around her shoulders. The mechanic looked up, meeting Alfred’s eyes with her tear-filled ones.

“Alice are you okay?” He asked, looking even more concerned. She nodded in response, not trusting her voice enough to give a verbal response. Alfred looked doubtful but nodded, “Alright but I’d like to bring you to the infirmary just to make sure you’re okay, okay?” 

“I-I suppose that’d be fine.” She agreed and started walking out of the alley way. The Sergeant followed her out, and the pair walked in silence for a few moments until Alice started to sob quietly. A hand grabbed hers causing her to flinch at the touch, she looked up at the blond man beside her. “Th-thanks for coming, ser- Alfred. I appreciate it. How did you-”

“I was already on my way to find you actually. Those guys gave me a bad vibe so I followed you at a distance. I lost you for a second there when you ran into the alley. When I heard your scream I just ran as fast as I could. Nice job with them by the way, maybe you should be an officer or something.” Alfred smiled weakly and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. 

“Thanks, my brothers taught me how to fight when I was younger.” Alice explained as a cold breeze carried in and caused Alice to shiver again. They walked the rest of the trek in silence, neither one of them knowing what to say, but soon enough they were in the infirmary getting Alice checked in. She was led to a private room for her examination and Alfred stood by the door, feeling the need to guard the doorway. Not too long after Alice was escorted into the room, her uncle rushed into the infirmary. 

“Sergeant Jones! Where’s Alice? Is she okay?” The man looked beyond worried, his clothes were disheveled and his boots were drenched with mud.

“She’s fine Lieutenant. Alice is in the room getting examined.” Alfred replied and put a hand on the man’s shoulder. “You’re niece is quite the fighter.”  
Wimbolten wordlessly nodded and began to pace back and forth in front of the door while Alfred tapped his foot as they waited patiently for the doctor and Alice to emerge from the room. They startled when the door opened and the doctor came out. The lieutenant colonel and the doctor began speaking, both too engrossed in their conversation to notice Alice slip out of the room she was in. Alfred smiled at Alice, eyes full of concern when she put his coat back in his arms.

“Thank you Sergeant Jones for your coat and for everything tonight.” She smiled weakly. Alice was clearly still a bit on edge from what happened earlier. Her hair was no longer in pigtails, the long, sandy blond locks draped over her shoulders, her fingers fiddled with one lock of hair. One of her wrists was bandaged up and there were a few bandages on her knuckles.

“It was no trouble, I’m just glad you're safe.” Alfred smiled and put a hand on her shoulder, “Do you need anything? I could get you some tea or something? Or I could ask the nurse if she has any cold compresses for you to use.” He kept rambling about what he could bring her. His continuous ramblings stopped when Alice smiled and laughed lightly.

“You’re a good friend Alfred, but I think I’m all set. I was planning on going back to the hangar, I still have some work that I need to finish up but you’re welcome to join me if you’d want.” Alice smiled and looked down at her feet. Her pride wouldn’t let her admit it but she was a bit concerned about walking alone in the dark. Alfred nodded wordlessly and was about to say something when he was interrupted by Alice’s uncle.

“Alice! I’m so glad you’re okay. I was so worried when I heard your scream. Those gits got suspended and the worst earful they’ve ever received.” Wimbolten continued to ramble on, making sure that Alice was okay, saying what her brothers would have done if they were stationed at the base. Alice told him that he doesn’t need to worry about anything and that she was fine. Soon after her uncle was called away to deal with other matters, but before he left he told Alfred to keep an eye on Alice and make sure that she was okay. Alfred nodded and promised that he would. After getting officially discharged from the infirmary, Alice and Alfred found themselves walking back to the hangar under that starry night sky.

Alice was fairly jumpy, but managed to hide it well enough for Alfred not to notice. They walked into the hangar and turned on the lights, there wasn’t much work that Alice had left to do but if given the choice between staying in the hangar and going to her quarters, she would choose the hangar. The mechanic led the way through the hangar, picking up scrap pieces and moving them into their proper piles, she put some tools away and turned the radio on as she walked past the radio. Music filled the small area of the hangar, making the silent and almost lifeless hangar seem brighter. Alfred helped in picking up the scattered chunks of metal and parts. 

The song that was playing was a slow love song that was commonly played at the officers dances that were played at the last base Alfred was stationed at. He looked up when he heard humming coming from the woman in front of him who was working diligently on paperwork for different parts that would be needed in the coming weeks. A pencil was tucked behind her ear as she read the documents in front of her. Alfred smiled gently at the sight and went back to sorting out parts and tools. He felt that it was important to give Alice some space after the events that happened only an hour ago. 

“Hey Alfred?” Alice said hesitantly and looked up from the papers in front of her, her glasses precariously balanced on the tip of her nose, away from her eyes. “Thank you for your help around here. I’m sure you’re tired so if you want to leave you can.” Alfred looked away from the tool box in front of him and the tools in his lap and smiled at Alice.  
“Nah it’s all good! I’m a night owl so no worries. I’d just be tossing and turning for hours.” That was an excuse and they both knew it, Alfred had yawned only a few moments ago. Alice raised an eyebrow, showing that she didn’t quite believe that excuse, “Alright well if you fall asleep here, I’m not going to be the one to bring you to your barracks.” She turned back to the paperwork in front of her. Minutes past and song after song played, soon Alfred was done with the job Alice had given him. He grabbed a broom and began to dance with the music that played

“What on earth are you doing?” Alice raised an eyebrow but didn’t look up from her work. The clatter of tools on the floor, followed by an “oh shit” came from behind a shelf. The Brit sighed and went to investigate the damage that the american had caused. He was in the middle of picking up the fallen tools when Alice had found him.

“I was… uh dancing and I guess I accidentally knocked some stuff over” He grinned sheepishly as he put the tools back in their bins. Alice couldn’t help but smile a little bit as she bent down to pick up some of the tools. The upbeat song that was playing switched to a slower song. “Hey Alice?” 

“Yes Sergeant Jones?” Alice replied as she finished putting the rest of the tools in the bin on the shelf. She turned to find Alfred looking over his shoulder, scratching the back of his neck. He seemed nervous somehow which was fairly strange to Alice, but her thoughts were interrupted when he held out a hand to her, “do you want to dance?”

That was when Alice’s brain started spinning, she found herself nodding and taking his hand. He hesitantly pulled her in close, almost as if she was the most fragile thing in the world. It was as though he thought that if Alfred made one wrong move, she would shatter.

“You know I can handle myself perfectly fine. I’m not as fragile as some may think”Alice huffed and looked away as they started to sway.

“I know. I saw what you did to James. It’s just that I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.” Alice hid a small smile and let the music encompass her. The singer’s voice was melancholic, but it was beautifully so. Alfred started humming along with the singer, and twirled Alice. They continued to sway until the song ended. They parted ways an hour later, going to their respective quarters, Alice felt safer than she had a few hours ago though she wasn’t sure if it was because of the time she spent with Alfred or the wrench she carried in her hands. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was difficult for me to write but the events in it was something that I thought I should include in this story. For those of you who might of experienced events similar in anyway to what I depicted here I am truly sorry. No one deserves to be taken advantaged of, or violated in any way shape or form.


	5. Air Raid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's December 29th and Alice gets some bad news. Her once good moved was crushed instantly and she takes it out on poor Alfred. Their tempers flair just before an air raid.

December 29th, 1940

A couple weeks have passed since the alleyway incident, since then the soldiers that had given Alice a hard time before were now giving her plenty of space. All soldiers except for one Alfred F. Jones that is. Since the incident he had been hovering around her more in between flights and missions. His constant chatter and prodding wasn’t what annoyed Alice though, no, it was the constant teasing she received from him. She’d be working on a plane when the officer would return from one of his scheduled flights and begin to ask her question after question. He would poke fun at anything he found amusing. Whether it was the way she sounded like a pirate when she swore, or the way she’d get engine grease smeared on her forehead which made her look like she had a unibrow. His visits would end the way they usually did, she would either throw him out of the hangar after he knocked something over or he would get called into a meeting. Today was different from the past couple of days.

A phone was furiously ringing from across the hangar, startling the mechanic enough for her to bump her head on the plane that she was working under. She ran across the hangar, cursing and stumbling over parts that were scattered across the floor. The petite woman was able to reach the telephone just in time. “H-hello? This is Alice Kirkland may I ask who’s calling?”

“Miss. Kirkland this is Miss. Jennings, a friend of your parents.” The woman’s voice sounded weary and almost mournful which made Alice bristle. “I thought I should call and inform you that last night during the bombings, your home got caught in the explosion. I’m so sorry Alice. Your parents were devastated when they heard. They’re safe, we moved to the countryside about two weeks ago.” Miss Jennings continued to explain what happened and how she had heard from a friend of a friend who was too stubborn to evacuate the area. Alice had stopped listening, her mind was racing, her voice was raw when she finally spoke, “I-I see… Well thank you for calling Miss. Jennings, please give my parents my love. Stay safe.” 

The call soon ended, leaving Alice in a bustling hangar that felt more lonely than it had just a few moments ago. She took a deep breath and went back to work, submerging herself in the process of patching up some holes in the bottom of the plane.  _ “I won’t let this shake me.” _ Alice thought to herself as she continued to work. The mechanic was too wrapped up in her task to notice a door fly open or quiet footsteps coming her way. It wasn’t until she was pulled out from under the plane that she realized another person was there. The other mechanics had known better than to do this to Alice, unless they wanted to receive a punch to the face.

It was an instinct that Alice had developed from having three older brothers and from living on the air base. She regretted her action as soon as her fist met Alfred’s cheek.

“Shit! Alice what was that for?” Her eyes widened, but her temper was already starting to rise. The emotions that ran around in her mind were too much to contain at this point. “You should've known better, you git! You don’t just pull a mechanic away from their work unless you want to get punched!” 

The american’s eyes widened when he noticed the hostile look in Alice’s eyes, “Alice I didn’t mean to startle you.” He reached out to put a hand on her shoulder only to have it pushed away. The emotions Alice was bottling up were beginning to morph into anger and desperation. 

“Yeah. I’m sure you didn’t mean to,” She drawled and glared at him, “but that doesn’t mean you haven’t been a pain in the arse prior to this occurrence.” This time Alfred bristled defensively and started to look frustrated. The pair began to argue with each other. The argument grew and the pair began to make harsh jabs at each other. Alice got into Alfred’s face until their noses were just centimeters apart, “Let me tell you something. You americans think that you can just swoop in and save the day, but the world doesn’t work like that.”

“Well you British people are so snobbish and too uptight and prideful to even admit when you’re wrong. What’s up with your spelling, you do know that honor is spelled without a ‘u’ right?” Alfred narrowed his eyes at her, clearly getting more and more frustrated with Alice.

“What does the way we spell have anything to do with this? You can’t even hear the difference!” Alice yelled incredulously, arms flailing.

“Doesn’t matter! You’re spelling is strange and stupid!” Alfred’s arms were crossed over his shoulders, voice raising slightly.

“That’s not even why we’re arguing right now!” Come to think of it, Alice couldn’t really recall why they were arguing, not that it mattered at this point since she was too stubborn and angry to really care. 

“Right! We’re arguing because you get so defensive about being a female engineer!” Alfred yelled, throwing his arms up in the air. That comment alone made Alice’s temper rise exponentially. 

“You have no idea what I’ve been through to get to this point! You have no idea the judgement and doubt I’ve received.” She yelled defensively, eyes flashing with rage.

“You’re right I don’t know but I do know that you shouldn’t give a damn what those idiots think! You’re a great engineer and you should be proud.” The words tumbled out of Alfred’s mouth before he realized it. His voice still kept the borderline angry tone but it was betrayed by the nice words that came out of his mouth. Alice’s eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say something but she was cut off by a shrill siren that rang through the base.

Both of their eyes widened and they let their conversation die in favor of following protocol for the situations. Alice automatically ran for the bomb shelter and Alfred quickly followed behind her to make sure she got there safely. The warehouse was the farthest away from the shed, meaning that they would probably be the last ones there. The sound of metal crashing into the earth and planes flying by surrounded the base. As soon as they got to the designated bomb shelter they realized they were too late, the door was already locked. Alice pounded on the door, yelling, and calling out but the sound was drowned out by the chaos around them. 

“Alice you need to get to safety! Come on!” Alfred grabbed her wrist and tugged her along, they went to the smaller shelter that was only a few yards away. It was built when the air base was much smaller and was seen as a last resort if the bigger shelter was already filled. Alfred tugged the door open and pulled Alice into the shelter with him. “You’ll be safe here okay? Stay here.”

“Just where do you think you’re going?” Alice turned around to find Alfred making for the door. The gunmen that were in charge of shooting down planes were already out in the fray doing their job. She saw that every gunman was already set up and occupied while they were running through the chaos. 

“Alice I don’t want to argue with you right now. I’m going back out there to see if anybody needs help or if there’s anything they need me to do okay?” The look on Alfred’s face said that there was no room for argument with him.

“Alright but I’m going with you.” Alfred opened his mouth to argue, “No! No butts. I’m going out there to help set up more guns okay? You’re not going to stop me.” She grabbed the tool box that was by the door and ran out. Alfred followed after her, hoping to dear god that she wouldn’t get hurt.

They ran through the base, flinching after each crash and explosion. Officers were yelling orders for the soldiers to fire when ready. Some of the soldiers looked at Alice like she was crazy, others welcomed the help that she offered. Alice brought ammo to those who needed it while Alfred helped the officers and other soldiers with the chaos that was occurring. The chaos ended about two hours after it began, the soldiers and other base personnel were out cleaning up the debris and checking for any injured people. A large group of nurses and soldiers were sent into the nearby city to check for any injured people. 

Alfred was called into a meeting with the other officers and Alice was called to help with repairs and cleanup. After she was done with the tasks assigned to her, she returned to her section of the hangar and began to clean up the mess that was made. A few shelves were knocked over as a result of the ground shaking, and a few lightbulbs broke but overall there wasn’t much damage done. The hammock that she had hung at the empty area of the hangar was looking more inviting than the mess that was in front of her. Alice pushed the desire to climb into the hammock to the back of her head, there was work to be done and she wasn’t going to rest until she did it. A door opened followed by some footsteps coming in her direction, she was suddenly enveloped in a tight hug.

“Alice! Great job out there, but you could’ve gotten hurt.” It took Alice a moment to realize that it was Alfred who was hugging her, not her uncle. Alfred looked just as exhausted as she felt but a smile was still on his face. “Are you okay? You’re shaking.” The mechanic hadn’t realized that she was shaking, nor that the tears that had built up in her eyes were starting to spill. She had tried so hard to keep everything together since the phone call she had received, but it seemed harder to do now that she was physically and emotionally drained from the events of the evening. Alfred pulled away to get a better look at her face, Alice’s eyes were puffy, and there were bags under her eyes. Her boots and pant legs were caked in mud and dust, and her hair was falling out of the ponytail it was in. There was engine grease and soot smeared across her face, tear tracks more apparent due to the soot and grease. 

“I-I’m fine.” Her voice betrayed her and Alfred gave her a doubtful look. Alice looked down at her feet, unsure of whether to tell the truth or not when she was pulled back into a hug. “Ally you don’t have to tell me but I can tell that you’re not okay. I’ll help you clean this stuff up, but you should try to get some sleep after.” The pilot gave her a gentle squeeze then let her go to help with the cleaning of the hangar. The pair was able to pick up the hangar fairly quickly, they chatted quietly while doing so.

“Hey Alfred?” Alice asked from across the hangar, trying to put a bin back on the top shelf. She was struggling a little bit due to her short stature. “Need some help?” Alfred was suddenly behind her, taking the bin from her and easily setting it on the shelf she was trying to reach. 

“Not what I was going to ask, but thank you.” Alice flushed slightly and looked over her shoulder, “Did you mean what you said about me being a good mechanic?”

“Well actually I called you a great mechanic, but yes I did mean what I said.” Alfred smiled gently and took a step back, giving Alice some space. The mechanic blushed more and looked down at her feet, “Thank you, that really means a lot to me. I’m constantly under scrutinization and I often find myself expecting to receive that from everyone around me regardless of who it is. I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier, I received some rather upsetting news earlier and took it out on you.”

“It’s okay, I get it. This war is bringing out different sides of people. I’m sorry you’ve received that kind of treatment.” The pilot took Alice’s hand and gave it a small squeeze. “Still friends?”

Alice smiled and laughed softly, “Yes, still friends. You’ve become almost like my shadow so I doubt I’d be able to get rid of you if I tried.” The grin that Alice received was blinding. She found herself being picked up off the ground and swung around by Alfred, the woman yelped and started gently hitting the man’s shoulders. 

“Alfred you git! Put me down you’re going to knock things over!” He quickly set Alice down at that, not at all interested in receiving her rath from knocking over tools and more shelves.

“That was the last bit of tools that needed to be picked up. I’m exhausted, can we please head back to the barracks now? I’d like to get some sleep.” Alice took off her glasses to rub her eyes and yawned. The action of Alice rubbing her eyes made her look much younger than she actually was. Alfred found the action to be incredibly endearing and smiled at the petite mechanic. “Yeah let’s get some sleep, you look like trash.”

Alice’s eyebrow twitched and she looked at Alfred with a blank expression, “You should look in a mirror.” The pair walked out of the warehouse, both on edge to be out in the open due to the events that unfolded just a few hours earlier. As soon as they reached the building designated to the female personnel, Alfred gave Alice a tight hug and wished her goodnight. Alice smiled and returned the sentiment before entering the building and returning to her quarters. Alfred returned to his quarters as well but wasn’t able to stop thinking about the spitfire mechanic that he had befriended. The rest of the night was as peaceful as one could expect from a military base.


	6. New Year's Eve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's New Year's Eve on the base but no one seems to notice or care! Alice's childhood friend, Jack (Australia) drops in and messes with Alfred.

December 31st, 1940

Only a couple days past since the last air raid, the base was busier than ever. More planes were being sent out and more were returning even more battered than before. Alice and Alfred had been knee deep in work for the past few days, and were unable to see each other outside of the repairs on Alfred’s fighter-plane. It was New Year’s Eve but nobody mentioned or even acknowledged the holiday due to the focus everyone was directing on the war. Training drills were occuring more frequently, and more meetings were being held. Between drills and meetings, groups of soldiers and other personnel went into the city to help move rubble and collect scrap metal. The base only acknowledged Christmas though not many presents were exchanged and the dinner served was certainly not a feast. Nobody minded since it was to be expected from all the rationing that was occurring. 

Alfred was sent out on a fairly long flight that morning. the skies were fairly clear, there were only a few clouds in them. The pilot checked his plane’s controls and fuel levels, along with their coordinates. They flew over the English Channel, and kept a look out for any Axis Powers planes. “Alright boys! So far so good, just keep an eye out for any enemy activity. We got this!” Alfred said confidently over the radio. He was sure that even if they encountered trouble, they would be able to handle it. After all they were the good guys, brothers of war who would be able to protect each other. 

They didn’t encounter any other planes until around noon, which was when Alfred and his team ran into some trouble. Enemy planes emerged from the horizon and began firing rapidly at the team. They were miles away from land so there was very little chance of casualties. “Alright men we’re on the defense, this is our territory and those jerks will not pass us okay? Do whatever you have to, just don’t die. Got it?” Alfred radioed to the four other planes around him. 

The enemy’s aim was sloppy and their maneuvers were too slow, making it easy to avoid their attacks. With this in mind, Alfred led the defensive measures. The team easily evaded the enemy’s line of fire and were able to land successful hits to the other planes. “ _ This is too easy,” _ Alfred thought to himself as he dodged the enemy’s attacks. He heard a loud thunk to his left and looked out his window to find a good sized dent on his left wing. The pilot grimaced and quickly fired at the plane that had hit him. “You boys doing okay?” He asked the rest of his squad, he received a chorus of yes’s in response. It was a relief that no one had sustained too much damage yet, “Alright then! Keep fighting boys, we go this!”

The fire fight continued on until the enemy planes were all shot down or driven off. The enemy put up a pretty good fight, but something didn’t seem right to Alfred. The Axis planes he had encountered before were ruthless but reckless. This encounter felt more like a test than a legitimate fire fight. The planes had been quick to retreat and didn’t stick around to inflict more damage on the Allied planes. Regardless, Alfred’s squad managed to sustain minimal damage, aside from a few dents and bullet holes. The group returned to the air base at around eight o’clock at night. Something was still eating at Alfred though,  _ “Why did they fight like that? Why did they leave so soon? They must’ve been scouts.” _ He decided to talk to the lieutenant colonel about his suspicions later. Alfred hopped out of his plane and took a better look at the damage his plane had taken. There wasn’t anything that couldn’t be fixed, a few scrapes here, a couple bullets there. What concerned him was the fluid that was leaking from the plane’s under belly. While Alfred kicked himself for letting his plane take a hit like that, a small part couldn’t help but feel a little excited. If his plane needed repairs then that would mean he’d be able to see Alice.

“Better go get Ally!” He chirped happily, turning on his heel to go find the feisty mechanic. The pilot left his plane to the side of the runway, closest to the large hangar door. As soon as he walked in he could hear Alice’s voice and the clatter of tools. He figured that she wouldn’t mind some company at this hour since she was almost always alone in the hangar. The young pilot carefully tiptoed his way over to where Alice was, following the sound of her voice. The one thing that was always amusing was teasing and surprising the young mechanic. 

“It’s going to take a while for me to get the propellor’s motor repaired, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.” Alfred followed the sound of Alice’s voice deeper into the hangar, careful to step over tools that were scattered on the floor. He was close enough to make out the plane that she must have been working on and the pilot that it belonged to. “You’re landing gear is a little screwed up but that shouldn’t take long to fix either,” Her head popped up from behind the plane, her hair bouncing slightly, “It’s nothing major so I should be able to get it patched up.”

“Thanks so much Alice, I really appreciate it.” The brown haired pilot had given Alice a hug, which shocked Alfred. No one on the base aside from the lieutenant, and himself were able to hug Alice. That wasn’t because of Alfred or the lieutenant colonel, no that was because if anybody else tried to hug her and if they did then Alice would rip them a new one. Alfred was only able to hug Alice because he was quick and strong. What surprised him more was when she laughed, “It’s no problem Jack, really. Tell Aunt Lucy I said hi when you write her okay?” That made sense now, this guy was family which explained why he wasn’t getting his ass kicked.

“Wow! How many people are you related to on this base?” Alfred hadn’t meant to say that out loud but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He tripped over a tool box, stumbling slightly and drawing more attention to himself than he expected to. Alice’s eyes snapped over to Alfred and she wriggled out of Jack’s grasp. “Hello to you too Sergeant. Jack here is actually a childhood friend. I just call his mother my aunt since they’re like family at this point.”

“Pleasure to meet ya mate!” Jack stuck out his hand to Alfred. The brown haired man was now facing Alfred. He didn’t seem to have a typical British accent and two locks of hair defined gravity in a similar way that Alfred’s did. The man seemed to be pleasant, definitely confident and charismatic. The american pilot smiled full force and took his hand, squeezing it just a bit hard, “Nice to meet you too, British?”

Jack looked down at their hands then back up at Alfred with an amused look in his eyes, “Wow mate nice grip! My mom is but my dad is from Australia, moved to Australia when I was eight and moved back to London when I was seventeen. Then this blasted war began and I enlisted.” The pair let go of each other’s hands, Alfred feeling a pang of jealousy at the look of fondness that Alice gave Jack when he started talking to her again, “What do you think of the jackal I painted on the side of Jackie?”

“I think it’s obnoxious that you named your plane after yourself, you twat.” Alice rolled her eyes and smacked his arm. She turned to Alfred, tilting her head slightly and fixing her glasses, “Is there something you need Alfred?”

“Umm… I got into a firefight and Tony’s leaking fluid.” Alfred glanced between the two and scratched the back of his head, “Think you could take a look at it?” Unlike the other pilots who named their planes after girls they fancied, Alfred had named his after his dog back home. “Of course! Where’s Tony?” Alice grabbed her tool box and turned to Alfred. While the plane itself was reliable Alice seemed to dislike his plane the most. She usually grumbled about shoddy American engineering. “She’s back on the runway, want me to bring her in?”

“Not at the moment, I’ll take a look at what repairs need to be done then we’ll bring her in. I’ll be back in a moment.” With that Alice ran off, leaving Alfred and Jack in her section of the hangar. Alfred turned to Jack, and was met with a look that could only be described as a wolf sizing up its prey. “So you’re the American I’ve been hearing so much about?”

“Um… I guess?” Alfred's smile wavered under the aussie’s gaze, despite Jack being two inches shorter than him, he was still very intimidating. The man was built for sure and while Alfred was strong, he had no doubt that Jack would give hima run for his money if he chose to start a fight. Jack’s expression changed for a quick second then his resolve broke as he began to belly laugh. Needless to say, Alfred was confused. The aussie wiped a tear from his eye, “ah that was too good, if that freaked you out then God bless ya when you meet the trio of psychos Alice calls her brothers. I won’t threaten you mate, you seem like a good chap and that’s honestly not my job.” Alfred started to relax, “But you hurt Alice, I skin you alive and use you as a belt got it?”

Alfred nodded lamely, feeling a bit unnerved by the not-a-threat-threat. With the tension mostly gone the two began to exchange stories of the times they messed with Alice and about the planes they flew. The two continued to chat until a door suddenly burst open revealing a rather annoyed looking Alice. The mechanic stormed over to Alfred and glared up at him. 

“What on earth did you do to that plane? How on earth did you manage to fly it here without crashing? You could’ve gotten hurt!” Alice scolded Alfred who looked shocked and confused. Jack looked between the two and decided that now was his best time to leave, “Alright… I’m just going to go. Good luck Alfred, I hope she doesn’t scold you too much!” 

Alice grunted and said a brief goodbye then turned back to the young man in front of her. The engine grease smeared across her face and the twig that had somehow managed to lodge itself in her hair was so amusing that Alfred had a hard time trying not to laugh. Alice continued to scold Alfred about not being more careful, it was hard to imagine that they had only met a few weeks ago. It felt like they had known each other for years…. Just then a realization dawned on Alfred, “Alice! Happy New Years Eve!”

Alice blinked in confusion “Is that what you have to say to yourself you git?” She tapped her foot then sighed, “Happy New Years, Alfred. Can you and your inhuman strength help me move your plane in here so I can work on it?” Alfred nodded and grabbed her hand, tugging her out of the hangar to get the plane. They managed to pull it into the hangar with little issues and began to work diligently. The pair worked on the plane until ten o’clock at night, only taking a brief break to drink water and chat. Music was playing in the hangar as Alice and Alfred worked. The radioshow spokesperson made a comment about lovers and New Years Eve but neither Alice or Alfred paid any attention to it.

“Can you pass me that fuel line connector and patch?” Alice’s hand poked out reaching for something, Alfred handed her the parts she requested and focused on tuning up the propellor. “Hey Alice? You and Jack aren't, like, together or anything, right?” Alfred’s question was met by a thump and a yelp. He assumed that Alice had bumped her head from surprise and started to regret asking the question. “Wha- No! Goodness, what gave you that idea? Jack is like a brother to me!” Alice climbed out from under the plane and looked at Alfred with confusion. “What made you think that?” 

“Well you two are just so close and I wasn’t sure!” Alfred flushed slightly and he kept working on his plane. The blush didn’t go unnoticed, Alice raised an eyebrow and went back to work. The two continued to chat, it was a bit more awkward after that question. The repairs took longer than expected

“Well I think Tony’s all set. I couldn’t get one of the dents out but I don’t think that should be much of a problem.” Alice stood up and wiped her hands with a cloth, she only managed to get some of the grease off. Alfred smiled and wiped his forehead, “Sweet! Thank you so much Ally!”

“For all those troops out there, we’d like to thank you for your service and sacrifice. We’d also like to wish you happy New Years! Here’s Vera Lynn’s  _ ‘We’ll Meet Again’!” _ The radio began to play the slow song which echoed through the mostly unoccupied hangar. Alice was looking over the plane one last time, swaying to the song without realizing it. While she didn’t notice her swaying or humming, Alfred noticed it and smiled. “Ally would you want to dance?”

The question made Alice jump and blush lightly, “I’m covered in grease Alfred. I doubt you’d want to get your-”

“Alice I’m just as covered in grease as you are, one dance wouldn’t hurt.” He smiled and offered her his hand. She stared at it, blushing even more and hesitantly took it. Alice placed her hands on Alfred’s shoulders and he put his hands on her hips. The two began to dance around the open area of the hangar, Alice was too aware of their close proximity to allow herself to relax. Alfred was humming softly along with the music, “You know dancing is more enjoyable when you relax.” 

“R-Right, sorry I was just umm…” She cleared her throat, “lost in thought.” Alfred chuckled and spun her away from him, then pulled her back into his arms. The mechanic was startled by the grace of the pilot’s movements. He immediately dipped her in his arms, holding her just a few feet above the floor. Alice’s eyes widened as a deep blush spread across her face. Neither one of them moved, both feeling an intense urge to move just a few inches closer. Something changed in Alfred’s eyes, his eyes grew warmer and softer as his face moved closer to Alice’s. “A-Alfred?” She squeaked, feeling her blush darken even more. The pilot’s eyes widened and he abruptly pulled them both into an upright position. He immediately let go of Alice and scratched the back of his neck, nervously. “I uh…”

“It’s alright!” Alice said a bit too loud causing her to finch at the volume of her own voice, “W-where did you learn to dance?”

“I learned from watching my parents dance together growing up.” Alfred explained growing more pink. He looked over at Alice with new eyes. It just occurred to him how important Alice was becoming to him. It was clear that he was becoming more fond of Alice, he was becoming concerned about what would happen if-when the war would end. Alice nodded wordlessly and chewed her bottom lip, “Well you’re a good dancer, certainly surprised me… I think I’m going to walk back to the barracks. Would you like to walk with me?”

The pilot’s eyes widened and he nodded, “Sure! I’ll walk with you.” The two put away the tools and walked out of the hangar. The pair walked in near silence, making small talk here and there, stealing glances at each other. They reached the female barracks and stood by the door, Alice was lecturing Alfred on how he needs to be more careful with the fluid line on the plane.

“Alright alright! I’ll be more careful.” The pilot chuckled and held up his hands.

“Good. You better.” Alice gave him a stern look but it was undercut by the smile on her face, “Alright, well I better go.” Alfred nodded, but Alice hesitated when she turned to the door. She turned back around and pecked Alfred on the cheek, “Happy New Year Alfred.” She then turned back around and ran inside, leaving the stunned american pilot standing outside the door. A smile crept across his face as he spun around and jogged back to his quarters. It was a good night for the pair, one that they would both remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I hope y'all are enjoying this fan fiction so far! I you have any comments on what I could be doing better feel free to leave a comment. Hope y'all are staying safe. Stay awesome!


	7. The Bet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Alfred decide that the best ways to pass the time are to either pester Alice or challenge each other to inane contests and bets. Alfred, being the person he is, is unable to back down from a challenge. Even if said challenge could result in him running around the air base mostly naked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! This was a fun chapter to write so I hope you enjoy!

January 10th, 1941

The day was no different from the others that week, planes came and went, some more battered than others. There were plenty of repairs to be done on those that had returned. Alice was hard at work on Jack’s plane when she heard bickering and footsteps coming her way.

“Jackie can definitely fly faster than your hunk of junk plane.” Jack’s voice rang with a tone of challenge behind it. 

“I’m sorry dude but you’re definitely wrong, and Tony is not a hunk of junk! At least mine is up and running and not in the shop still.” Alfred retorted, flailing his arms about. Alice wasn’t surprised that Alfred and Jack were challenging each other to a race. It was perfectly in character for each of them to challenge other pilots to friendly races or competitions. Earlier that day Alfred and Jack challenged each other to an arm wrestling contest which resulted in another contest when Alfred won. Two two continued to bicker as Alice turned back to her work.

“Oi Iggy! Who’s plane do you think is more of a hunk of junk. Mine or Al’s?” Jack suddenly popped up behind Alice, ruffling her hair. She reached up and smacked his hand, then turned around to look at the pair behind her. 

“First don’t call me Iggy. Second. Both of your planes are hunks of junk, though I think the obnoxious jackle you have painted on your plane makes it more rubbish like. Then again Alfred’s plane is made up of shoddy american engineering.” She hummed, tapping her chin in thought. Her comments drew protests from both Alfred and Jack.

“Since your plane is rubbishly engineered, that makes yours more of a hunk of junk Al.” Jack smirked and leaned his arm on Alice’s shoulder. 

“You prat, get off of me.” The small mechanic pushed the Aussie’s arm off her shoulder and put her hands on her hips in a way that could only be described as a mother about to scold her child, “Don’t forget I’m still working on your plane Jack. At least Alfred’s is in mostly one piece.” 

“Eh true but you’ll be done with it soon, right Iggy?” Jack turned to his plane and began checking out how the repairs were going.

“Yes it should be done soon. I just have to reattach some of the parts and she’ll be up and running by late this afternoon.” Alice explained as she fixed her classes.

“Hey, why do you keep calling Alice, Iggy?” The other pilot asked, looking mildly amused and confused by the nickname. 

“Her middle name is Ignes.” Jack smirked at the small mechanic who looked ready to throttle him. She wasn’t a huge fan of her middle name due to the creative and mildly insulting nicknames involving her middle name that her brothers used to give her.

“Is it okay if I use that nickname, Jack?” Alfred asked as a wide grin spread over his face. 

“Go for it mate.” Jack grinned just as wide. Alice began protesting about how stupid that nickname was and how they wouldn’t call her that if they knew what was good for them. The two pilots tried very hard not to laugh at her scolding, but the grease all over her face and her hair sticking up in random places made it difficult for them not to chuckle at how cute she was. 

“Aw come on Iggy it’s just a nickname!” Alfred smiled brightly, causing a blush to creep across Alice’s face. She hated the fact that Alfred’s smile could make her blush so easily. She also hated Jack for telling Alfred about that stupidly childish nickname that he had given her growing up. 

“It’s a stupid nickname. Now let me get back to work! You two can go do whatever it is you came here to do, but I need to get Jack’s plane done!” She shot both of the men in front of her glares that meant she meant business before turning around and going back to work. What she didn’t see were the matching mischievous smiles that were plastered on both Alfred’s and Jack’s faces. 

“Come on Jack we don’t wanna bother Iggy now would we?” Alfred said with too much innocence in his voice to be genuine. 

“Oh you’re completely right, we wouldn’t want to bother the poor dear.” Jack said in falsetto with a mock British accent. Alice bristled but quickly composed herself.  _ “Those two idiots must be trying to get me riled up. Well I won’t let them!” _ the mechanic thought to herself. 

The two pilots had decided that an arm wrestling contest would be the best thing to do while they waited for Alice to finish up repairs. They cleared off a small table that was just out of sight from the mechanic. It was a cramped area with a whole bunch of shelves and boxes cluttered around the small table. It was a miracle that they didn’t knock anything over when they sat down at the table.

“Alright what’d ya say we make things interesting?” Jack smirked as he put his arm in the arm wrestling position. The brown-haired man was clearly up to something, that would either be tremendously fun or incredibly stupid.

“Sure what’d you have in mind?” Alfred asked with a quirked eyebrow. The question made the grin on Jack’s face grow even larger. 

“Well… If I win, you have to streak through the base butt naked tonight, and if you win then I have to streak through the base butt-naked.” Jack grinned, and laughed hysterically at the look on Alfred’s face, “Come on mate, are you too chicken to take me up on it?”

“Why are those the two conditions you come up with? And no! I’m not scared! Let’s get this over with, you’re gonna lose Aussie.” Alfred mimicked Jack’s arm wrestling position and the two clasped hands. 

“Ready?” Alfred nodded at Jack’s question, “Set….Go!” The pair started pushing as hard as they could against each other’s hand, trying desperately to over power the other person’s arm. Alfred adjusted his grip and started to gain control of the situation, pushing Jack’s arm down towards the table top. Jack kicked a box, causing a bunch of other boxes to fall with a loud crash. Alfred’s grip slackened as he jumped in surprise and Jack successfully slammed Alfred’s arm down onto the table.

“You-You cheated!” Alfred’s eyes widened in surprise then quickly narrowed in annoyance. 

“All is fair in love and war, mate. Last time I checked we’re at war.” Jack was smirking in triumph and leaned back in his seat. 

“What the bloody hell are you two doing?” Alice yelled loudly, causing the two pilots to jump and turn to face the very angry looking mechanic. Her green eyes were flashing with annoyance, her hands were placed on his hips and she was tapping her foot in annoyance. The pair looked around, just realizing how big of a mess Jack had caused. They then looked back up at the annoyed Brit with matching sheepish smiles. 

“Uhhh…. Arm wrestling?” Alfred offered, scratching the back of his neck. Alice had received that look enough to know that he felt guilty for the mess he created. Her expression softened slightly but then immediately went back to the annoyed appearance she had moments ago. 

“So how did you two manage to make such a large mess?” She quirked an eyebrow. Alfred and Jack shared a look, then looked back at the mechanic and shrugged.

“Well you two gits are cleaning this bloody mess up.” Alice glared at them. The two nodded and mock saluted her.

“Yes ma’am.” Alfred and Jack said at the same time with matching grins on their faces. Alice walked over to each of them and lightly smacked them on their heads before turning back around to return to her work. The pilots laughed then set to work on picking up the mess they made.

“Hey Jack. Do I really have to streak through the base?” Alfred asked with hesitation in his voice.

“We bet on it, you lost. So yeah I would say you do. At least run down the small alleyway between the barracks. You can keep your underwear on if that’ll make you feel better” Jack replied as he picked up his portion of the mess.

“Ugh alright, my underwear is staying on though okay?” The american huffed and continued to pick up the mess that Jack had created. They managed to pick up the rest of the mess in only a few short minutes. Alice had come back after that and put them to work around the hangar. The two would bicker and pester Alice while they worked, both thoroughly entertained by Alice’s reactions. She was just so fun to poke fun at.

They continued to work until it was time for dinner. Alfred was the first to suggest that they go get dinner at the dining fall, but that wasn't a surprise to either Jack or Alice. The guy was constantly hungry, but because of the rationing that the Allied Powers were doing, a midday snack wasn’t possible without getting an earful afterwards. The trio sat at one of the tables closest to the door, Alice was busy talking to some of the nurses and other engineers so she didn’t notice when Jack leaned over to Alfred with a giant smirk on his face. 

“So, when are you going to fulfill your side of the bet Al?” The idea of streaking through the base was horrifying enough for Alfred. At least he would be able to wear his underwear, but it was still January, and it was snowing. While Alfred didn’t mind the cold, he certainly didn’t enjoy being out in the cold without at least one full layer of clothing. 

“Dunno, a little after dinner probably. Maybe after I hit the showers.” The tone in Alfred’s voice revealed his hesitation. It was clear to both of them that Alfred was perfectly willing to put this off as long as possible.

“Alright then. Well I best be going. I’ll see ya later Iggy.” and with that the brown haired australian pilot left. 

“What were you two talking about?” Alice had returned her attention to Alfred who was now sulking. 

“I lost a stupid contest and now I have to do something incredibly dumb. He cheated so he should be the one doing it! Not me!” His arms flailed in frustration. Alice raised an eyebrow but said nothing, choosing that it would be better to let him sulk and complain than to get him even more riled up.

They soon finished their dinner and parted ways, Alfred going to the showers and Alice going back to the hangar to finish up Jack’s plane. Alfred had accumulated large amounts of dirt and grease that had accumulated on his hands, arms and hair from working in the hangar earlier that day. He was so busy scrubbing himself down that he didn’t notice his clothes being taken, leaving him only with a pair of underwear and a very small towel. When he was done he turned the water off and grabbed the small towel that was left for him.

“What the?” He poked his head out to search for the larger towel he had only to find a singular pair of underwear waiting for him. “Ugh! JACK!” The annoyed and damp pilot yelled as he pulled on the underwear. Alfred marched to the door, and opened it slightly. The half naked man peered out the door to make sure that the coast was clear. Once he was certain that no one was in the vicinity he dashed out, making a beeline for his quarters. It was cold and snowing, the faster he ran the more numb his bare feet seemed to get. He passed a few pilots on his way, they looked pretty shocked but amused to see the american officer in the state he was in. Alfred was almost there when he crashed into an unsuspecting bystander. Much to his own horror, that bystander happened to be Alice.

“Bloody hell watch where you’re-” her words trailed off when she realized how little clothing Alfred had on. The small woman’s face bloomed in a deep blush as she quickly averted her eyes, “Alfred where in the blue blazes are your clothes.”

“Y-Your b-buddy Jack took them while I w-was in the sh-shower.” Alfred was shivering and immediately stood up. Whether his face was bright red from the cold or from running into Alice, he would never know. “Forget you saw me! I gotta go! See ya Iggy!” With that the half naked man ran off, leaving a very flustered Alice behind. 

As soon as he got to his quarters he quickly clothed himself and set out to find Jack. He didn’t care that the other pilots saw him in that state of disrobement, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to toss the australian pilot into the nearest snow bank. The next couple of days Alfred was teased by his fellow pilots and he was unable to make direct eye contact with Alice without either one of them getting flustered. Lucky for him, after a week or so the incident had passed and mostly everything had gone back to normal. He still couldn’t get over the fact that Alice had saw him like that.


	8. Awkward!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things a little more than a bit awkward between Alice and Alfred! Our buddy Al wants to ask our dear Alice to an upcoming dance, but is too nervous in light of recent events. Our duo turn to our poor sleep deprived Jack for help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating this past week! Things have been a little hectic here and there's been a lot of work that I need to do but hey! One chapter down God knows how many left to write! I hope that everyone is staying safe. I hope y'all enjoy the chapter.

January 20th,1941

A little over a week passed since Alfred’s streaking incident, needless to say, both he and Alice were traumatized by it. They weren’t able to make eye contact for a solid four days, and when they were able to, it was incredibly awkward. Alice’s work took up the majority of her day and Alfred’s flights tended to coincide with Alice’s free time for another three days. Jack had taken to teasing them both about the incident. That teasing was soon stopped when Alfred barged into his room while he was asleep and tossed him into a nearby snowbank. 

The missions that Alfred was being assigned were getting increasingly more and more intense. It was a miracle that his plane hadn’t sustained more serious damage than a couple bullet holes and scratches. Sooner or later serious damage was bound to happen, that was something every pilot had to come to terms with before each flight they were sent out on. As intense as life on the base was, there were moments when it wasn’t so bad. While they couldn’t drum up a whole bunch of entertainment, there were the occasional poker nights and rare dances which managed to keep morale up. 

Alfred had been thinking about asking Alice to the upcoming dance but he was conflicted about it. Things were still awkward and they both were dancing around the subject, but on the other hand, Alfred really wanted to work things out and for this whole thing to blow over. Those thoughts plagued his mind for the majority of his day, when he had finally come to the conclusion that he would ask her, he was hit by a wave of nervousness. He decided to go to the person that had a better understanding of Alice, which was Jack.

“Jack you in there?” Alfred knocked on the man’s door. There was some rustling followed by muffled cursing, soon the door was thrown open by a very disheveled looking australian man. 

“What’d ya want?” His voice was gruff, he was clearly catching up on sleep from a long mission. 

“Wow you look like shit. Can I come in?” Jack’s eyes narrowed at the statement but he nodded anyways and opened the door further to let Alfred in. Alfred walked into the small room. It was neatly kept aside from a messed up bed and clothes thrown over the chair. Jack walked over to a chair and plopped down, Alfred sat down on the small trunk at the foot of the bed.

“Alright. What’s this about?” Jack studied the look on Alfred’s face. Alfred looked fairly flustered and nervous which was an unusual look for the man. A cheshire grin spread across his face, “It’s about Alice, innit mate?”

“How’d you know?” Alfred’s eyes widened.

“It’s written all over your face mate! Are you still all wound up over what happened last week?” The Aussie chucked with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. The smug look on his face and the twinkle in his eyes made Alfred feel a bit uneasy. 

“Look it’s just been weird since that incident and I want to push past that ya know? She’s been a great friend while I’ve been here and I don’t want that to be ruined because some jerk made me run through the base in nothing but my underwear.” The American made a face at Jack. The other man busted out laughing at Alfred’s face, clearly getting an immense amount of entertainment from the situation. The laugh made Alfred pout and grumble unhappily.

“Look mate, Alice is as stubborn and bullheaded as she was since the day I met her. The girl has three older brothers and one younger brother, so she’s tough. Iggy will get over it, trust me. Just give her time.” Despite the sound advice, Alfred didn’t look entirely convinced and still fairly hesitant Jack caught the expression on the blond pilot’s face and leaned forward, “You want to ask her out don’t cha?” 

Alfred immediately stiffened at those words and stuttered, “W-What? No! Ugh she’s a friend! I was thinking of seeing if she’d want to come with me to that upcoming dance that’s being held in the dining hall, but only as friends!” 

The Australian pilot smirked even more, seeing right through Alfred’s embarrassment, “Liar, you wanna ask her out. I can tell! Just do it mate!”

“You think it would be a good idea to ask her to the dance as friends?” The blush on Alfred’s face grew redder and redder.

“No mate! Don’t ask her as a friend, ask her as a date.” Jack was beginning to get slightly frustrated with the dense american in front of him. Said american was about to open his mouth in protest when Jack huffed and shoved him out of the room, “Look Al, I gotta get some sleep. You keep torturing yourself over this dilemma of yours. Lemme know what she says.”

And with that the door was slammed shut, leaving Alfred alone in the hallway feeling confused and embarrassed. “Well.... I guess that helped a little bit?” Alfred thought aloud and left the building to go to his plane. When he arrived at the place where his plane was parked he found Alice doing a once over. She looked to be tracing a finger along one of the larger scratches on the side. Unsure of what to do, Alfred cleared his throat and awkwardly waved when Alice looked over. 

“O-Oh hello Sergeant.” A small blush crept across her face as she waved back.  _ Well this is awkward, _ Alfred thought to himself. He knew that the only way to combat awkwardness is to react how he would normally, though that was easier said than done.

“So how’s Tony doing? You have trouble with her awesome engineering again?” The pilot chuckled and patted the wing of his plane. The mechanic’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance but her shoulders relaxed.

“Honestly that plane’s engineering is not ‘awesome’ at all. The wiring is not as efficient as it could be and the weight of the tail creates drag during take off and landing. Honestly how you’ve managed not to crash that hunk of junk alludes me.” Alice glared at said plane, gesturing at the parts that were “problematic”.

“Hey how many times do I have to tell you that Tony is not a hunk of junk!” Alfred crossed his arms defensively but there was a smile on his face. He was happy that the awkwardness had dissipated despite the fact that Alice had blatantly insulted his plane. 

“If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it's a duck. Therefore your plane is garbage.” She crossed her arms with a playful smirk on her face, clearly enjoying herself. 

Alfred pouted and hugged his plane, “Don’t listen to her Tony. You’re a swell plane with tons of character. She just isn’t able to see that.” That comment got him a smack on shoulder from Alice. He turned away from his plane and grinned at the petite mechanic. “So whatcha up to besides making fun of my plane?”

“W-Well I was just looking over your plane to see if there was any more damage from your last run.” She scowled and shifted in place a little bit, flushing slightly. The grin on Alfred’s face only grew brighter at that. He was about to say something when another pilot called Alice from another plane.

“Hey Alice may I talk to you for a second?” The pilot was an acquaintance of Alfred. His name was George and from what Alfred could tell he was a fairly nice guy. Alfred had seen him around the hangar, talking to Alice a few times before running off when he noticed Alfred. Alice nodded and ran over to George after excusing herself from Alfred.

Alfred watched the exchange from where he was standing, making up the conversation they were having since he was out of ear shot. George was standing in a confident stance with perfect posture and a smile on his face. The man was just a few inches taller than Alice with strawberry blonde hair. He seemed to be asking Alice a question given the hand gestures he was making. The mechanic stiffened and shook her head, peaking Alfred’s interest. She was clearly saying no to something and was making hand gestures back. George trudged away with his head hanging down as Alice walked back with a bright red blush on her face.

“Wow Iggy! How bad did you yell at him?” Alfred whistled out, and watched the man disappear behind one of the buildings.

“Oh shove it. I didn’t yell at him. The bloke asked me to the bloody dance that’s coming up and I said no. Honestly why on earth are we having a dance in the middle of a bloody war? It hardly makes any sense!” Alice continued to rant about how stupid and wasteful it was to hold a dance. Alfred’s smile fell as a look of disappointment spread across his face. The ranting mechanic was pulled out of her ranting when she noticed the change of expression.

“Alfred are you alright?” A look of concern spread over Alice’s face, eyes lit with worry and her head tilted to the side. 

“What do you mean? Everything’s fine! Nothing to worry about here. Oh, I gotta go talk to your uncle. See ya Iggy!” Alfred plastered a smile on his face and ran off, leaving Alice concerned and confused. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alice watched Alfred’s retreating figure with a concerned expression on her face. It was unusual to see such a disappointed expression on the usually cheery and optimistic pilot’s face. Sure things were a bit awkward between them since the boxer incident but she thought that they had just moved past it a few moments ago. The thing that was bugging her was the hurt look in Alfred’s eyes when he ran off. He was clearly hiding something, which made Alice worry all the more. Alice squared her shoulders and turned towards the barracks to go talk to the one other person that could possibly have the answers.

“Jack! Jack open the bloody door! I need to talk to you!” Alice pounded on the thick mahogany door until it was thrown open by a very disheveled and grumpy looking Aussie. 

“For fuck’s sake what is wrong with everyone today. Oh it's you Alice. What’s wrong?” The disgruntled look on Jack’s face shifted to one of concern.

“I need to talk to you about Alfred. May I come in?” Alice pushed her way through the door and sat down at the desk, not at all put off or surprised by the mussed bed or clothes strewn about the room.

“Yea make yourself comfortable.” Jack closed the door and plopped down on the edge of his bed, “So what happened with Alfred?”

“That’s what I’d hope to ask you about. I was talking to Alfred when George asked me to the dance, and you know how I feel about formal dances during this bloody war. When I got back from talking with George, I talked to Alfred some more and then he suddenly left looking pretty upset.” Alice explained. Her childhood friend hit himself in the face with his hand and said something.

“Did you tell Alfred about the whole thing you have about wartime dances?” Jack looked through his fingers at her. She nodded slowly receiving a loud frustrated groan from the Aussie.

“Iggy you’re just as dense as Alfred is.” he sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, “The lad was clearly disappointed that you didn’t like the idea of the dance.”

“But why would he be disappointed by that?” She tilted her head in confusion, causing Jack to roll his eyes.

“Dunno why don’t you go ask him yourself. I’m gonna get some sleep.” And with that he shoved Alice out of the room and slammed the door in her face. She was now even more determined to speak with Alfred. She was sick of the awkwardness between them and it was time to get the cards out on the table. Her path was set on the one place where Alfred would be at this hour, the dining hall. 


	9. Just Ask Me!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice and Alfred manage to work things out finally! Goodness I thought that awkward tension would never end! A new character comes in, one I think you all know and love. Our good ol' pal Fem!France. I loved writing her and not just because I got to practice my french again. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

January 20th, 1941

It wasn’t hard to find the American pilot, he was sitting at their usual table, patiently waiting for dinner to be ready. Alice took a deep breath from her spot in the doorway and squared her shoulders. She then walked over to the unsuspecting pilot and sat down next to him. 

“Alfred, why are you upset?” Alice’s sudden presence and question made the blond pilot jump. He flustered and began stuttering, trying to find the right words.

“O-Oh, hey Alice what’s up?” Alfred smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes fully. That caught Alice’s attention, her eyes narrowed.

“You’re upset about something. I talked to Jack and he thinks it has something to do with that dance that’s coming up?” She raised an eyebrow, her voice was laced with concern in contrast to the blank look on her face. Alfred chewed his bottom lip and hung his head low.

“Yea Jack’s right. I was kinda hoping we could go to that dance thing that’s coming up together ya know?” A blush spread across Alfred’s face, and after Alice processed the information a blush spread across her face too. “But since you think those things are so wasteful and pointless, I thought better of it. I don’t want you to be in a position where you’re uncomfortable.”

“Why didn’t you ask anyways? You know I’m prone to surprising people and proving them wrong” Alice’s eyes were wide and the blush on her face only grew deeper. 

“W-Well again I didn’t want things to be more awkward ya know?” The young pilot scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. It was an action that Alice recognized as a sign of Alfred feeling either guilty or embarrassed. She looked down at the table then smacked the back of Alfred’s head.

“Git. You could have asked me. Don’t just assume how I would react, you know how I feel about people doing that.” The blonde haired mechanic halfheartedly scolded the blond pilot. Alfred rubbed the back of his head and pouted more.

“I’m sorry Ally.... wait do you want me to ask you?” The question made Alice’s face turn bright red as she began sputtering for a response. That reaction made a wide grin spread across Alfred’s face. 

“Ally~ Do you want me to ask you?” He began poking her shoulder, in response Alice slapped his hands away. Alfred began poking her cheek instead, enjoying the reaction he was drawing out from the young mechanic. 

“You do whatever you want to do, just don’t assume how people will react! And for goodness sakes stop poking me you git!” Alice grabbed his wrists and forced him to stop poking her. She sent him a glare, partially out of annoyance and partially out of embarrassment. The grin on Alfred’s face only grew wider.

“You totally want me to ask you.” 

“Cheeky twit you’re getting too much of a kick out of this.” Alice released Alfred’s wrists and stood up to leave. She was stopped when a hand gently grabbed Alice’s hand. She looked back at the american and saw him looking at her with such determination and nervousness in his deep blue eyes.

“Ally do you wanna go to this dance with me?” His voice was confident, but the look on his face was what really made Alice’s heart flutter and her mouth go dry. 

“I-I suppose I could go with you.” Alice stuttered out and flushed more when she saw how the american’s whole demeanor immediately brightened. She found herself crushed in a tight hug.

“Oh this is gonna be so much fun! I’ll pick you up at seven okay? Oh this is gonna be great I can’t wait!” Alfred grinned and released her due to the announcement of dinner being served. 

\-------------------------------- The day of the dance-------------------------------

Alice was  _ not _ going to ask  _ her _ for help. Nope no way, not now not ever and Alice’s problem was not what led her to the door of the head nurse on base. Okay maybe it was but that’s besides the point, Alice was done with her tasks for the morning and just wanted to get her frustration out. She knocked on the door and waited patiently, silently kicking herself for letting her worries bring her to the person’s door and fiddling with the fabric of the uniform she was holding. The knock caused someone in the room to swear and another person to giggle quietly. Soon after that a blonde haired woman poked her head out of the door.

“Je suis désolée. J’ai été occupée… Oh it’s you! Bonjour ma lapine!” A wicked grin spread over the woman’s face, “ Have you come for some  _ company _ ?” 

“NO! That’s over now, frog, we both agreed that our arrangement is over.” Alice’s face bloomed in a deep blush as her temper boiled, “Besides I came for another reason Bonnefoy.” 

The woman behind the door, Françoise Bonnefoy, tilted her head in confusion and disappeared behind the door. Soon after a man left grumbling about being interrupted just as things were getting good. He left the door wide open, Alice peered through the doorway to see Françoise tidying up a bed while fixing her hair and uniform. 

“You know it’s not often that I get visits like this from you. In fact your visits stopped just as a certain blond haired, blue eyed pilot arrived.” The frenchwoman winked, causing Alice’s face to turn a deep red. She ducked when Alice threw a nearby anatomy book at her. Françoise was used to the Brit’s temperament and found enjoyment in pestering the smaller woman. She got to know all of the right buttons to push to get different reactions out of the brit, most of which consisted of her insulting Alice’s cooking, eyebrows, attitude and likelihood of gaining a romantic partner. The two of them had a special arrangement in the past but that promptly ended around the time that Alfred showed up. 

“Now, now there’s no need to throw things. So what brings you here ma amie?” Françoise smirked and sat on her trunk and gestured to the chair at the desk. Alice took a seat in the chair offered to her and made herself comfortable with the outfit laid across her lap.

“The dance is tonight.... Should I wear my formal uniform?” Alice was internally kicking herself as soon as those words left her mouth and watched with growing fear as the face of the taller woman in front of her grew into a mischievous and smug smirk.

“So that’s what this is about~. Ma amie who asked you? I must know so I can tell them that they have terrible taste.” Françoise ducked when Alice chucked another book at the frenchwoman. “I’m joking! Alright so may I see this uniform?” 

Alice nodded and held up the forest green skirt with a matching jacket and blouse. Françoise immediately face palmed and took the outfit, examining it for anything that could be flattering. Finding nothing with it as is on the hanger she threw it back at Alice.

“I’m going to need you to put this on in order for me to get a good gadge on how flattering it is.” The frenchwoman tapped her foot patiently waiting for Alice to get changed. 

“Wait, you want me to get changed here and now?”

“Ma lapine it wouldn’t be the first time that I’ve seen you naked plus we’re both women so it’s fine.” That earned the nurse a pillow to the head.

“Just turn around okay?” Alice yelled and made a turning motion with her finger. The other woman sighed but obeyed and turned around to give the smaller woman her privacy as she got changed.

If Alice was to be honest, she never put on the secondary uniform since she never had the chance too or found need for it. Her job was in the hangar, so a skirt would hardly be convenient in that sort of setting. Alice began to change into the other set of clothes, she found the hem of the skirt to reach her mid calves and the jacket to be a bit big and the blouse to be a bit too snug.

“Alright you can turn back around.” With that Françoise immediately turned around and started examining the uniform on Alice. She mumbled about taking in the waist of the skirt and fixing the jacket. Halfway through there was a knock on the door and another woman appeared. The woman was dressed in the same outfit as Alice but seemed to have the opposite problem with the jacket.

“Margrette ma cherie, would you like to trade jackets with Alice? I think her jacket would fit you better.” The frenchwoman grinned. Margrette looked confused for a moment then looked down at her own clothes. She wordlessly smiled and nodded, trading with Alice a leaving. She apparently forgot what she needed from the frenchwoman but whatever it was didn’t seem that important. 

“Alright try on the jacket.” Alice obeyed and tried it on. The frenchwoman frowned and walked to the door, sticking her head out. “Anyone know the dress code for the dance tonight?”

A voice yelled back, “Pilots and soldiers have to wear uniforms but nurses and others get to wear whatever they please! You have night shift tonight though so don’t even think about-” The voice was cut off when Françoise slammed the door shut and turned to the British woman with a wide grin on her face. 

“Ma cherie, I’m going to dress you so well that Alfred is going to faint from blood loss.” And with that the frenchwoman set to work. Alice protested here and there when the frenchwoman would suggest wearing something lewd or inappropriate by Alice’s standards. But eventually the two were able to produce a gorgeous outfit, only getting sidetracked by arguments and squabbles here and there. 

A few hours passed and soon Alice was back in her own room, patiently waiting for Alfred to pick her up. She was still dressed in her formal uniform but thanks to Françoise it was more flattering due to a new belt, blouse and makeshift tule under her skirt to make it flare out more. The heels that came with her uniform were swapped out with her combat boots upon Alice’s insistence. Françoise tried to talk Alice into letting her do her hair but she refused saying that she didn’t want to spend the rest of her night after the dance getting pins out of her hair. To that the other woman made an innuendo to what she would rather be doing that night, earning a smack on the head. Alice’s long blonde hair was brushed out but maintained it’s messy wind blown look much to Alice’s frustration but she chose to leave it as is. 

She kept fiddling with her skirt as she waited, silently wondering if she shouldn’t have insisted on keeping with the uniform look, when there was a knock on the door. Alice shot up and forced herself to calmly walk to the door, opening it in what she hoped to be a normal manor. Alfred had his back to the door but quickly turned around, revealing himself to be dressed in a crisp uniform suit with his medals pinned to the lapel and his hat sitting on his head. As soon as their eyes met they both turned bright red, they stuttered out compliments to each other before regaining composure. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a skirt Ally! You look pretty but you look just as beautiful in your usual overalls and grease stains.” Alfred flashed his 100 watt smile and offered his arm to Alice. 

“Thank you Alfred I think you look very nice as well.” Alice looped her arm through Alfred’s and blushed slightly at the compliment. With that the two set off to the dance. 


End file.
